Series Thread: ECF: Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavs

[WiggyRuss]

I still think it goes 6 if Leonard is back for game 3

its hard to argue against that after seeing Game 1.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I agree to a point. I think that basketball fans (most of the folks on here) will definitely be watching no matter what because basketball fans are typically fans of the game before fans of their own teams.

But casual fans and bandwagon fans will likely lose interest if there isn't a little more variety though.

i think the exact opposite

casual and bandwagon fans dont care if Boston or Houston makes it to the Finals

they want to see LeBron and Curry and Durant and Irving etc. They want rivalries and big time matchups and hype.

honestly- I could see the Cavs and Warriors- after Round 3 this year- having Round 5 before anyone crashes the party.

I mean- i dont see anyone next year unseating either team unless Durant leaves or there is a major injury.

LeBron isnt missing the NBA Finals for a long time to come- hate to break it to people.

 

[trojanfan12]

I mean, Butler to the Lakers would be a helluva coup and the Lakers have the assets to get it done.

But, I don't see them ever bringing Deng back on that awful contract and they would probably have to part with the #2 pick and two of the following four, minimum....Randle, Russell, Ingram, Clarkson.

This is not like the Paul George or Boogie situations.

Jimmy has multiple years left on his deal.

So, the Bulls have all the leverage.

Agree. That trade proposal would be a lot more believable if it were for PG-13. He is almost at the end of his contract and has never denied the rumors that he wants to play for the Lakers. So the Lakers would have the advantage in that scenario.

As far as I know, Butler hasn't made the same kind of noise about wanting out and, as you point out, has more years left on his contract. So, even if he does want out, the Bulls have more time to get him some help and convince him to stay.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Agree. That trade proposal would be a lot more believable if it were for PG-13. He is almost at the end of his contract and has never denied the rumors that he wants to play for the Lakers. So the Lakers would have the advantage in that scenario.

As far as I know, Butler hasn't made the same kind of noise about wanting out and, as you point out, has more years left on his contract. So, even if he does want out, the Bulls have more time to get him some help and convince him to stay.

yah it doesnt make sense

that offer DJ is talking about

the Bulls could get a MUCH better offer than that from Boston in about 2 seconds.

 

[trojanfan12]

Celtics at least have Crowder, and Brown who they can throw at LeBron.

I always thought that the Wizards lack of a guy to cover LeBron, and there pretty crappy 3 pt shooting and their pretty crappy bench would have been big inhibitators while playing the Cavs----- but Wall and Beal at least have the firepower to be a threat.

If the Celtics and Wizards could combine teams (Wiztics or Celzards lol), they might be a threat to the Cavs. As you point out, the Celtics at least have a couple of guys who can annoy Lebron a little bit defensively, but they have no 2nd scoring option for IT. So when the Cavs ran guys at him, he had no one he could count on to help with the scoring.

The Wizards have guys who can score, but no one who can even annoy Lebron a little bit defensively. Combine them and you have a team that could actually win a couple of games vs. the Cavs. Probably still couldn't beat them, but they could make it a more interesting series.

 

[trojanfan12]

yah it doesnt make sense

that offer DJ is talking about

the Bulls could get a MUCH better offer than that from Boston in about 2 seconds.

lol No doubt. Besides, if that were a real offer from the Bulls...even Short Buss would have been smart enough to jump on that before they sobered up and changed their minds (I think).

 

[trojanfan12]

I dont think 4 of the top 15-20 players in the league have ever been on the same team. Some of the Lakers/Celtics teams mightve been close---- but i dont think they ever got there.

The Showtime Lakers at one time had Magic, Kareem, Worthy and Mychal Thompson (who took a reserve role to play with the Lakers). I think Thompson was probably just outside the top 20 though.

The Celtics has Bird, McHale, Chief and Dennis Johnson (although DJ was probably just outside the top 20 as well).

Those 2 are probably about as close to it as anyone has ever come before the current Warriors.

 

[Mecca]

Agree. That trade proposal would be a lot more believable if it were for PG-13. He is almost at the end of his contract and has never denied the rumors that he wants to play for the Lakers. So the Lakers would have the advantage in that scenario.

As far as I know, Butler hasn't made the same kind of noise about wanting out and, as you point out, has more years left on his contract. So, even if he does want out, the Bulls have more time to get him some help and convince him to stay.

^ This exactly

The Pacers are going to have to take a shitty Kings/Cousins deal, unless George has multiple Teams on his list to drive up his price.

By all accounts, he only has 1.

If anyone was still on the fence about his intentions to be a Laker, they were all erased after he did Kimmell.

Now, where things get interesting is if the Lakers have the opportunity to get George and Jimmy.

I think you'd have to seriously consider parting with any and everyone if it gets Deng off the books and brings in those guys in their prime.

Remember: If you unload Deng and even just Clarkson, that's max money and more to offer to a plethora of pg's that rate from good to great.

Tempting....gonna be fun to see what Magic does.

 

[Mecca]

lol No doubt. Besides, if that were a real offer from the Bulls...even Short Buss would have been smart enough to jump on that before they sobered up and changed their minds (I think).

Not Doc.

He would have insisted on the Bulls taking the Clippers next 10 draft picks.

* Sobs quietly *

 

[CitySushi]

Lebron is a fucking beast.

That is all....

 

[trojanfan12]

i think the exact opposite

casual and bandwagon fans dont care if Boston or Houston makes it to the Finals

they want to see LeBron and Curry and Durant and Irving etc. They want rivalries and big time matchups and hype.

honestly- I could see the Cavs and Warriors- after Round 3 this year- having Round 5 before anyone crashes the party.

I mean- i dont see anyone next year unseating either team unless Durant leaves or there is a major injury.

LeBron isnt missing the NBA Finals for a long time to come- hate to break it to people.

Good points. I could see it being either way, honestly. I mean, we know fans of the game will watch no matter what. I do agree though about the possibility of casual fans just wanting to see certain players.

We'll see about Lebron and the East. As of now, you may be right because it certainly is looking more and more like teams in the East are more interested in waiting for Lebron to get old or retire than in directly challenging him. I mean, the Celtics are a player, maybe 2 away from being a real threat and Ainge won't pull the trigger.

 

[larryjohn]

The Showtime Lakers at one time had Magic, Kareem, Worthy and Mychal Thompson (who took a reserve role to play with the Lakers). I think Thompson was probably just outside the top 20 though.
The Celtics has Bird, McHale, Chief and Dennis Johnson (although DJ was probably just outside the top 20 as well).
Those 2 are probably about as close to it as anyone has ever come before the current Warriors.

Mychael Thompson is the name on that list which doesn't belong. He was just a backup then -- and had never even made an All-Star team. He best years were early with Portland. Byron Scott was the 3rd/4th best player for a few years. He averaged something like 20-22 ppg for 2-3 years.

DJ is a good one -- HOFer, All-Star a few times ... and very good defensive player.

 

[Ickey Shuffle]

LeBron basically made Thomas give him head on that dunk. Wow...

 

[Wamu]

lol No doubt. Besides, if that were a real offer from the Bulls...even Short Buss would have been smart enough to jump on that before they sobered up and changed their minds (I think).

Speaking of Jimmy Short Buss I'm gonna miss him.

beep-beep...

 

[trojanfan12]

Mychael Thompson is the name on that list which doesn't belong. He was just a backup then -- and had never even made an All-Star team. He best years were early with Portland. Byron Scott was the 3rd/4th best player for a few years. He averaged something like 20-22 ppg for 2-3 years.

DJ is a good one -- HOFer, All-Star a few times ... and very good defensive player.

Yeah, I included Thompson because he was a starter who took a reserve role with the Lakers to win titles. But you may be right that Scott would have been a better name. Either way, those were some seriously stacked teams. Especially when you consider that Michael Cooper (who Bird said was the guy who defended him best) came off the bench too.

Yeah, DJ was great. I just can't remember if he was still top 20 at the time.

 

[TurnUpTheHeat]

You got me curious, so I did a quick check on bbref. You sir, are correct.

Since 1964 (as far back as bbref will go on this)... no one has ever won 4 games in the Finals at home.

Wow
That wouldnt have been my guess

 

[Wamu]

@WiggyRuss ...

Do you know how much tickets are going for once the Cavs return home for games 3 & 4? Just wondering.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Tristan Thompson Dominated on the Glass
It’s easy for Thompson to get overlooked next to all of Cleveland’s star power, but his ability to switch screens on defense and stay in front of smaller players on the perimeter, as well as to create extra possessions on the offensive glass, is a huge part of what makes the Cavs so dangerous. Thompson is the only player in their rotation who doesn’t shoot 3s, but he’s still able to force defenses to respect him by rolling hard to the rim and being active in the paint. Don’t guard Thompson and he will get free lanes to the offensive boards:

The Celtics started the game with Horford on Love, which left the player formerly known as Amir Johnson on Thompson. Johnson has been terrible all playoffs long, and he lasted only five minutes in Game 1 before getting pulled. Guarding Thompson wasn’t a priority for Boston, and he made them pay, finishing with 20 points, on 7-of-7 shooting, and nine rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. It got so bad Stevens dusted the mothballs off reserve center Tyler Zeller, even though he has played only 42 minutes in the postseason.

 

[Montalban]

The Celtics are a joke, The Cavs are just toying with them.

 

[Battlelyon]

I appreciate the sportsmanship of the Celtics